Lalitha Sahasranamam 372 - 375

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Bhakta-mānasa-haṁsikā भक्त-मानस-हंसिका (372)

There is a small story about associated with this nāma. Brahma, the God of creation created a lake called Mānasarovar at the top of mount Kailāsa. The water in this lake is known for its highest purity. The lake exists even today. Swans always prefer purity and hence flock around this lake. The lake is compared to the mind (which has to be pure) and the swans (normally a pair of swan) are compared to jīvātma-s (souls) and Paramātma (the Brahman)} are compared to Lalitāmbikā. This story says that Brahman has a great liking for a pure mind and chooses to stay there forever, guiding the aspirant from within.

Saundarya Laharī verse 38 provides further information on this nāma. In Hinduism, highly evolved souls are called paramahaṃsa-s (a religious man who has subdued all his senses by abstract meditation) which refers to the qualities of swans. The swans have a few exceptional qualities. If water and milk is mixed, swans consume only the milk leaving water alone. This is interpreted as that one should take cognizance of only good things, leaving bad things aside, though the world exists as the mixture of the two. Whenever swans are mentioned, they are always referred to in pairs, out of which one represents sense of hearing and another sense of seeing. Out of all the senses, only these two cause serious erosion of moral values. Like swans one should take notice of good things in life. That is why She is referred as swan.

Nāma 816 is muni-mānasa-haṁsikā.

Kāmeśvara-prāna-nāḍī कामेश्वर-प्रान-नाडी (373)

She is the vital force of Kāmeśvara, the Supreme form of Śiva. This nāma is taken from Veda-s. Śrī Rudraṁ says (Yajur Veda IV.v.10) “Oh! Rudra! We invoke the auspicious form of yours, that is auspicious and ever healing along with the great auspicious form of Śaktī”.

Saundarya Laharī (verse 28) also speaks about the importance of Śaktī in sustaining Śiva. Śiva swallowed the dreadful poison that was formed while churning the ocean of milk. It was due to the auspiciousness of Her ear ornaments, Śiva was saved from the disastrous effects of that poison. The point driven home here is that the eternal Śiva cannot function without Śaktī and by the effect of Her māyā the universe exists today. That is why She is called the life energy of Śiva

Kṛtajñā कृतज्ञा (374)

She is aware of all the actions of the universe. She is capable of transcending the secrecy or privacy, which ignorant men think that nobody is capable of hearing or seeing (recollect those two swans).

There are nine witnesses to all our actions. They are sun, moon, the lord of death (Yama), time (kala) and five basic elements ākāś, air, fire, water and earth. All these nine are under the control of Śaktī and that is why She is said to be the witness to all the actions of the universe. This can also be interpreted as ‘she is the one who imparts knowledge’. In other words when one performs his karmas without expecting anything in return, pleased with his selfless nature, She imparts the Supreme knowledge (knowledge of the Brahman). In ViṣṇuSahasranāma 82 is Kṛtajñā.

Cāndogya Upaniṣahad (IV.iii.8) says, Prāṇa, speech, the eyes, the ears and the mind – these five represent our physical self (ādhyātimka). Air, fire, sun, moon and water represent Nature (ādhidaivika) that surround us. The ten together are to the dice throw called kṛta. It is also said that ādhyātimka and ādhidaivika together represent the universe and hence is known as Virāt (the Supreme Intellect located in a supposed aggregate of gross bodies). Living beings are known as ādhibautika.

In terms of Cāndogya Upaniṣahad (IV.i.4) Kṛtajñā means a person who includes within himself all the good things that other people do. He is the sum total of all good things in the world.

Kāma-pūjitā काम-पूजिता (375)

She is worshipped by the lord of love Manmatha. We have seen earlier that She is worshipped by twelve gods and godlessness, sages and saints through Her supreme Pañcadaśīmantra and Manmatha is one among the twelve (refer nāma 239). Manmatha is also known as Kāma and the worship by Kāma is called Kāma-pūjitā. 586th nāma is Kāma-sevitā.

There is yet another interpretation. In Śaktī worship there is a reference to fifty one holy places (Śaktīpīṭha) that are considered sacred. But internally, there is a reference to four places called kāmagiri pīṭha (this nāma), pūrṇagiri pīṭha (next nāma), jālandhara pīṭha (nāma 378) and oḍyāṇapīṭha (nāma 379) corresponding to base cakra, navel cakra, heart cakra and throat cakra. Sound evolves from the base cakra undergoes refinement and delivered as speech through the throat cakra. The four pīṭha-s referred above represent Parā, paśyantī, madhyamā and vaikharī. This has already been discussed in nāma-s 366 to 371.